Nyssa Tealeaf
Appearance Nyssa stands a full 3 feet and 4 inches tall as a Rock Gnome. She is on the skinny side at 40 pounds, her inconspicuous gray robes making her look less so as it seems a little baggy but comfortable on her. The years on the tea farm with her family has bleached her dark brown hair a lighter shade as well as making her skin rather tanned for a gnome. Her prominent cheek bones that mark her as a gnome rather than like her halfling family are usually hidden by her straight bangs, the rest of it tied into a ponytail. Her eyes are as teal as the seas that she travels with her companions. History Nyssa was born to her parents under the cover of the full moon. For reasons unknown to anyone but her parents, they dropped the babe off at the doorstep of a halfling house in a small, rural community with a rather large book before running for the hills. The community couldn't find her parents or understand what was written in the book other than that her name was Nyssa, so they gave her to the most needy of families in need of a child, the Tealeafs. Her new parents, , tried to treat her as they treated their only son, , but she was different than any halfling. She was always curious of what things were, how to make things better when these things weren't broken! She was never content with helping her parents with the farm (they exclusively made various herbs for teas to export to other communities and trade for essentials in the community), but would rather like to read books or tinker with the gardening tools or other random tools. Many kids in the village didn't like her weird habits but still talked with her occasionally. She realized early on that she wasn't like the other kids, and her parents let her know the truth that she was a gnome that they found one day with a book. They had kept it, as it was the only keepsake the kid would ever have of her past. From reading other books she had immediately recognized a few of the pages as spells and many more empty pages just waiting to be filled with even more spells. The only odd thing was something of a cover letter that she did not know how to read, but knew that it was probably Gnomish as it was a link to her heritage. This book set a flame to her curiosity that she ran with a passion. Whenever caravans came of travels and trade, she would run to see if there was a way she could learn Gnomish or anything else of gnome culture. Some gnome merchants sold her a tinkering kit and lessons in Gnomish for coin over the years. As she grew to her full height and reach adulthood, she was finally able to fully decipher the letter. It read: My Dearest Nyssa, '' I must start by apologizing for what we're about to do to you. We want you to live in ignorance of who we are and what we've done, and gnomes like to encourage curiosity traditionally. Halflings, on the other hand, don't. If you're reading this though, they never quite quelled your own curiosity.'' The honest point of me writing to you like this is one, apologizing for abandoning you like this. I'm sure living among a people that didn't want you would be rather difficult. Second though is a strong word of caution. I have given you a start in the ways of the arcane, partially against my better judgement. I had fallen to a lust for power though, so I want to warn you from following the same path of destruction and heartbreak that I embarked upon. I couldn't risk you finding the appeal of magic, especially necromancy and evocation, without some kind of cautionary word, lest you create another me. Lastly, if you do want to learn more about us, learn your history first. Hopefully by the time you read this and follow up on it, we'll just be a footnote in the grand scheme of the history of Kahaless. '' We will both miss you terribly, even if you try to find us. Choose your path carefully, my daughter.'' With so much love, Your father and mother With this newfound knowledge, Nyssa requested with her parents to find out more about this. They knew that they would miss her, but also knew that she would never be happy to just live on the farm with them for the rest of her days. They collected enough money to set her up for exploration, and saw her off together, making sure that she promised to visit them again one day. Her first clues were to learn more magic and find her parents in history books. To do this, she trekked all of the way to Jericho, learning all that she can on the way of gnomish history and magic. When she arrived, she couldn't find any real evidence of the supposed atrocities that her parents committed, but she did find several other wizards to guide her. She was a gifted evoker, despite her father's warnings with the particular school of magic. After a long and rigorous study, she received a letter to go to a particular bar. Hoping that this was finally a clue to what she was seeking with her family, she said goodbye to her tutors and went straight to the place indicated in the letter. She was with a rather large group of people that was also at this bar, and a rather funny man was practicing rather fascinating magic that she had never seen before with alcohol. He addressed her, and as she gave her name but before she could ask any questions, she was teleported to the middle of some temple with an even larger group of adventurers. She paired up with a rather friendly but exotic half-elf bard that had the hair of a sunset, a tiefling rogue that seemed rather friendly for a tiefling, and a druid that held what appeared to be an undead rose with her. She worked well with them through the areas presented to her (even when the druid befriended the Frost Giant), her evocations really helping despite her small stature. As the group emerged from the temple, there was an army waiting for them. They held the ranks off rather well with the help of all of their comrades and the Frost Giant who was buffed to a larger size and with other enhancements that she didn't know about. The next thing she remembered was being at the foot of the wall of Jericho, listening to the sunset bard (Xavia Reserwind if she remembered her name correctly) give a powerful speech to the people of Jericho about the battle that was coming up and defending the town. In a cloud of confusion but boosted morale, Nyssa went to the docks to hopefully help to the best of her ability. She didn't want the only city that helped her learn magic be wasted by other countries, and hopefully this one battle will dissuade from an all out war between the countries. The last of her memories was seeing one of her compatriots being replaced by Aedrileth, completely surrounded by soldiers. She threw her most powerful spells at the horde, but just before they died, she saw the fellow wizard fall. She hoped that he was just unconscious, but as the bodies dropped onto the ground, she could tell from the river of blood spilling from the body that the wizard had indeed died from the battle. Personality Nyssa's alignment is True Neutral as she strives to stay rational in all of her endeavors. She can be fanciful in adventuring (she wouldn't be practical and stay on the farm for her family), but will try to make the most rational choice for her and most others at the time. She is also sincere to everyone she meets, as she has never found being deceitful to be a beneficial thing for her. The main thing that drives her though is her overwhelming sense of curiosity about the world around her. She would rather study a danger rather than run from it, and a good mystery would usually keep her occupied and happy. This also drives her to further her study of magic despite warnings against it. Abilities Artificer's Lore - When making an Intelligence check (History) related to magical items, alchemical objects, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply. Tinker - Grants proficiency with artisan's tools (tinker's). Using them, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp to make a tiny clockwork device (AC 5, 1 hp) but stops working after 24 hours unless you spend an hour to repair it. Can only have up to 3 devices at a time. a. Clockwork Toy - Clockwork animal, monster or person. Moves 5 ft. per round in a random direction, making appropriate noises to its representation. b. Fire Starter - Requires a standard action, but can light a candle, torch, or campfire. c. Music Box - When opened, it plays a single song at a moderate volume. It stops when it is closed or when the song ends. Gnome Cunning - Grants an advantage to all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic. Rustic Hospitality - Can fit among commoners with ease and find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners. Languages - Common, Halfling, Gnomish. Darkvision 60 feet Equipment For weapons, she carries a quarterstaff, a dagger, and a light crossbow that is currently under the possession of Liandra, one of the tiefling rogues. Other notable items she has is her spell book (4 cantrips, 9 Level 1 spells, and 3 Level 2 spells), her spell component pouch, artisan's tools (tinker's), and an Explorer's pack. She also has a ring of protection and monkeys that she wears constantly. Trivia * Did you know that the creator of Nyssa isn't very good at coming up with good trivia? I certainly didn't until now!